The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui (Classic Stage Company) NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (123)
See it if You want to experience an energetic revival of this Brecht classic. Interesting staging by John Doyle.The ensemble cast is terrific.
Don't see it if The subject matter is not for you.The play requires your complete attention.I noticed several audience members who were asleep.What a shame!
See it if satire of Hitler's rise to power as told thru a story of a Chicago gangster, wonderful portrayal of Ui by Raul Esperza, funny & disturbing
Don't see it if you don't like satire or like your satire subtle; would be confused by actors playing more than one role Read more
See it if You are a fan of Raul Esparza. He was great. And if you like Brecht, although this isn't one of his best plays.
Don't see it if You don't like satire. Although in this case the satire is frighteningly close to our current reality.
See it if This is an excellent, cohesive cast easily handling Brechtian dialogue. Nuance and relationships are not always clear, but the allegory is.
Don't see it if You have any difficulty hearing. The fast pace of the dialog took time to catch. You are not interested in political allegories.
See it if you're deepening your appreciation of Brecht beyond "The Threepenny Opera." Raul Esparza's turn in the title role is deliciously strange.
Don't see it if you go ballistic when the parallels between Trump and Hitler are made evident. To say this production feels timely is an understatement. Read more
See it if you like great theatre that is thought provoking and satirical
Don't see it if you prefer straight up theatre and or musicals
See it if You like Raul Esparza and/or intense dramatic shows performed in an intimate setting.
Don't see it if Are looking for uplifting, escapist theater.
See it if You want to see a well-acted political farce decrying the complicity of wealthy business interests in the success of the Nazi Party.
Don't see it if you're expecting parallels to modern day politics. Brecht wrote so specifically about the rise of Nazism it is obvious and nontransferrable
Critic Reviews (26)
"The production's biggest asset is four-time Tony Award nominee Raul Esparza, making a long-overdue return to the stage, in the title role...Intriguingly, Esparza plays some of the role for outright, even surprising comedy; the scene in which he learns to walk like an actor is pricelessly funny. But he also deftly captures the amorality and ambition of a man who doesn't think twice about killing friends and strangers alike."
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“Sometimes one performance makes a show worth seeing. Doyle’s unfocused staging...opened just in time to make comparisons between Hitler and our current president...Among the actors only Esparza appears to have gotten the memo that Brecht is mixing vegetables and fascism to ridicule Hitler and his boys...It’s a magnificently indulgent performance...Doyle’s double-casting of roles and his muddling of time, place and relationships doesn’t help audiences follow the story.”
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"I did not think transposing Hitler’s rise to the story of a gangster fighting for control of the Chicago cauliflower trust was an apt metaphor...Secondly I had a problem with Tabori’s translation...The quality of the acting varied...As for Esparza, he coped reasonably well with a role that was not a natural fit. The first act builds rather slowly...While a cautionary tale about how fascism develops is certainly welcome today, I don’t feel this is a very effective one.”
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“The staging is awkward, with cast members having to open and set up tables, as well as closing them, and there is a lack of overall smoothness. The strongest element is the casting of Raúl Esparza as the villainous Ui, and when he dramatically gives it his all in his huge second act speech, the play rises to the occasion. Another thing the play has going for it at this particular moment is our own sensitivity to the evil of the current Trump administration.”
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“Uneven...Comparing the Trump administration to a gang of criminals is not unfamiliar to this audience...Thus, as a cautionary tale, ‘Ui’ feels too late. Combined with inconsistent acting and pacing and too many scattershot elements that don’t come together, ‘The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui’ turns out to be not irresistible.”
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"Doyle’s version does little to ameliorate a play rife with didacticism, pretentious faux-Shakespearean speeches, and characters baldly modeled on Adolf Hitler and his cronies...The performers...bring little nuance to the blunt script. The exception is Esparza in the title role...Brecht aficionados may find it worth the effort to add 'Arturo Ui' to their lists, but this tiresome production may discourage those who have never seen Brecht’s great works from giving them a try. "
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"Doyle offers no clear vision here, no comparison that might prove genuinely insightful...Now, there is surely rich material to be conceived about the parallels between Hitler and Trump. This half-hearted, rudderless noise is not it."
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"This production is certainly quite Brechtian, but even by these standards it may lack some subtly. The larger issue of the production is a confusion of plot events and characters, which is equally the fault of the play and the director...The play may be dense, the production may be confusing, and direction may be a bit heavy handed, the design too minimal, but Mr. Esparza is perfect."
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